Surgical and No-Surgical Treatments for Depressed Acne Scars

Depressed acne scars rarely respond to natural remedies and topical creams, and even if they do respond it is almost impossible to eliminate them completely using these traditional techniques. Luckily, there is an array of clinical procedures - both invasive and non-invasive - available to effectively fill acne scar depressions. Listed below are some of the surgical and non-surgical options that you have. Go through them and find out which one suits you the most.

SURGICAL OPTIONS:

Numerous surgical options available to treat deep, etched acne scars include:

Punch Excision:

This type of excision uses a round surgical instrument, similar to a cookie cutter, to remove the damaged skin. After removing the entire scar, the dermatologists carefully stitches the ends of the wound, making sure the stitches do not leave behind a visible scar.

Punch Elevation:

In this type of scar surgery your dermatologist will remove the hard scar tissues and raise the remaining tissues so that they become leveled with the surrounding skin.

Punch Graft:

As is obvious from its name, punch graft scar revision involves transplanting your own skin to the scar depression to fill the opening. This type of surgery is performed when the acne scars are excessively deep.

Subcutaneous incision:

Subcutaneous incision for scar removal involves separating the hardened scar tissues from the skin in a bid to allow the skin to raise and flatten the scarred surface.

NON-SURGICAL OPTIONS:

Non-surgical options are more in demand nowadays for obvious reasons: they are less painful, do not involve risk of further scarring and involve minimal or no downtime. The most commonly used non-invasive acne scar treatments include:

Chemical Peels:

Chemical peeling is the mildest of all non-invasive scar revision techniques. A chemical solution is applied to the affected areas to remove damaged top layers of skin, to not only level the skin surface but also to reveal fresh, smoother skin layers underneath. This procedure is used to treat superficial scars or depressed scars that are not deep.

Microdermabrasion:

Microdermabrasion also works in a similar manner as chemical peels. However, this technique uses aluminum oxide crystals to buff away top most layers of skin to reveal fresh layers beneath the skin. This technique is also effective for treating mild scarring, and may not work well for indented acne scars.

Dermal Fillers:

Depressed acne scars respond very well to dermal fillers. A liquid injectable solution is injected under the surface of skin to significantly raise scar depressions. Both natural and synthetic fillers can be used for plumping up pitted scars. Natural fillers include collagen or fat from the patient's own body. Results of fillers are most impressive but the only downside is that they offer a temporary solution, with the effects lasting for 6 to 18 months.

Laser Skin Resurfacing:

Laser Skin resurfacing is probably the most effective permanent solution for deep scars. A laser beam of specific wavelength is used to break the hard scar tissues, stimulating the healing process. It also accelerates natural collagen and elastin production, improving the smoothness and suppleness of skin. Fractional CO2 Laser Skin resurfacing is the latest technique being used all over the world to treat stubborn, indented scars. Laser skin resurfacing is not a onetime procedure. Generally 4 to 6 sessions are needed to eliminate acne scars completely.

Radio Frequency Treatment (RFT):

Radio Frequency Treatment is one the numerous Thermage skin treatments used to treat numerous skin conditions including depressed scars. This is the latest is affordable treatment that is safe for skin types and tones. Dermatologists use radio waves of specific frequency to tighten the skin. This causes the depressed acne scars to become less noticeable. Like laser skin resurfacing, RFT also needs multiple sessions to achieve desired results.

If you are interested, visit an experienced dermatologist now and depending on how deep your pitted scars he/she will recommend you a surgical or non-surgical acne scar treatment that suits you the best.

Note: Some doctors also prescribe Isotretinoin for severe acne. If you have also used any such prescription medicine for treating active acne be sure to tell dermatologists about it before he or she starts scar treatment.